PORT ANGELES – On Saturday, a three year-old child was poked by a discarded syringe while playing at the Dream Playground in Port Angeles.
The needles are sometimes concealed in the loose bark that surrounds the play areas, and there are some who say the city should consider replacing the bark with rubber mats to avoid any future problems.
Among them is Jessica Guthrie, who along with friend Brianna Kelly, founded a group called Bridging the Gap. They take regular walks through the city’s parks and public restrooms picking up and disposing of needles tossed away by drug users.
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They started a petition on Facebook, with the goal of taking the issue to City Council before somebody else gets hurt:
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We checked in with Parks and Rec Director Corey Delikat to see what he had to say about it. He told us that staff and volunteers go through all of the City’s parks every day, and have been for several years now.
And while he sees the rubber mats as a good idea, he says the City is actually looking at replacing the Dream Playground altogether, because it’s past it’s intended life span:
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Delikat says that in the meantime, a series of security cameras have been installed in the parks to make it easier for the police to keep an eye on people who use them at night.